Reel Seats

Why do modern rod manufacturers insist on placing the reel seat towards the top of the handle? I much prefer to have the seat under my hand when the rod but is under my elbow. Can anybody see the sense in it. Why not go back to a movable reel seat or even rings?/forum/smilies/i_dont_know_smiley.gif

lost me mate?...............but you can still have rods made with movable fiittings.

Rod butt length is determined by the type of rod. ie carp rods for distance require a long handle to get the force needed for the cast.

The positioning of the reel helps to balance the rod as well. Since Walkers day 1950/60's it was accepted that the reel needed to be towards the top of the handle. I think I'm safe in saying 98% of anglers accept that this is correct, and that the design of the rod takes this into account.

id go back to rings any day.

reel fittings are too far back for my liking, i liked it better when you could get the reel right at the front of the corks so when you were fishing a stick you had the end of the corks behind your index finger giving a much stronger grip because you were squeezing against the cork end and back of thereel stem.

Modern rod design in general doesn't take account of those of us who like to fish with a centrepin whenever we can. With a 'pin, there's a need for some handle space in front of the reel as, unlike a fixed spool, the pin's reel body is much closer to the rod, not on a 'stalk'. At the same time, I'm not fond of rings - in my experience they slip at precisely the wrong moment. I find that Drennan and Korum make excellent rods with handles which are in a good position for getting plenty of leverage but also have a decent amount of cork in front of the reel seat.

And while we are at it, oh for a carp rod with a full cork handle for those of us that dont just put the rod on a pod, connect the buzzer and go to sleep.

What,both of you?
Ian

Barry a powerful barbel rod does the job admirably

I could write a book about rod design and the position of reel seats of the different types of rods.

For light weight float fishing and match rods, a pair of sliding rings are fine. I used rods like this in the 60 with few problems. The best reel seats for salt water, carp. baitcasting and spinning rods are probably screw lock type but most of them are stuck in one position.Daiwa do a movable screw lock seat which is not bad but could be improved considerably.

The main problem with a lot of screw lock reel seats is that the manufacturers insiston positioning them with up-locking reel seats near to the top of the handle which makes you have to grip screw thread with your right hand. Nothing could be more hideous. The reel seat should be turned around so that the screw thread isabove the reel seat. This makes for a much better grip.

On the subject of fly rod reel seats for single handed rods, thank goodness the manufacturers are seeing sense and are putting the reel seat in an up-locking position so that the reel is as close to the hand as possible.In this position, the weight of the reel has a much lesser effect on the mechanics of casting. It wasn'tso long ago that reel seats were placed so that the reel was at the extremity of the rod handle. It took the Americans to recognise that this was wrong.

I'd love to go back to sliding rings for float work, not just for moving reel position but also for the comfort/grip in use, skinny threads are a pain If you've got big hands. Some manufacturers models have had a crack at encasing the threads of fixed seats (Shimano, ABU, Browning etc) which I find help a lot for feeder fishing, I just wish they did a sliding ring option for popular float models.

I hate sliding reel fittings and converted most of mine to screw fittings. Always at the back of my mind was the possibility that they would come loose when playing a good fish. I used to tape the rings with insulation tape, just to be on the safe side.

I like the John Roberts Reel-Fits, sliding collars with a parallel bore to grip the cork, then a moulded housing for the reel foot. Brilliant bit of kit, but I can't find out if they're still made and who stocks them!

<blockquote class=quoteheader>BarryC wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>And while we are at it, oh for a carp rod with a full cork handle for those of us that dont just put the rod on a pod, connect the buzzer and go to sleep.</blockquote>

Korum do one, it was reviewed with a load of others in Coarse Fisherman last month.

Neoteric Specimen rod.